9 Sep 2015

NZ rowers arrive in Rio

11:44 am on 9 September 2015

A number of New Zealand's top rowers have arrived in Rio for a three-day orientation visit in the city that will play host to the 2016 Olympic Games.

A team of 13 are visiting Brazil directly after the recent World Championships and Olympic qualifying regatta.

New Zealand's Mahe Drysdale at the World Rowing Championships at Lake Aiguebelette, France, 2015.

New Zealand's Mahe Drysdale at the World Rowing Championships at Lake Aiguebelette, France, 2015. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Olympic champion sculler Mahe Drysdale said it was a great opportunity to see where the Olympic Games will take place next year, we're looking forward to experiencing the Olympic city so that when we return in 2016 we can just focus on the job at hand.

Drysdale also predicted that New Zealanders have a lot to look forward to next year after the New Zealand Rowing team qualified nine Olympic boats and a total of 33 athletes at the 2015 World Rowing Championships.

He believed the 2016 Games would again boost the sport of rowing in New Zealand after the inspiring efforts of the rowers in London.

Olympic bronze medallist Rebecca Scown said it was exciting to see where the Games will take place next year, especially having just qualified the women's eight at the World Championships.

The group will visit the Olympic village, train on and visit the Olympic venue at Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas located in the heart of the city in the Copacabana cluster of venues.

Rio 2016 competition staff will host a tour of the venue and will give the rowers an idea of how it will operate in 2016.

The 2016 Olympic Games will be the first to be held in South America, and the rowing regatta will take place on Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas in the centre of Rio from 6 to 13 August 2016.

The group visiting includes nine athletes - Mahe Drysdale, Julia Edward, Sophie MacKenzie, Curtis Rapley, James Lassche, James Hunter, Alistair Bond, Peter Taylor, Rebecca Scown, two coaches - Dave Thompson and Mike Rodger and team manager Jan Taylor.